Undoing the damage
by minervabuckwheat
Summary: Picks up the story straight after Regionals, Jesse tries to fix things with Rachel...
1. Chapter 1

[Backstage, post-Sectionals]

"Rachel?"

Rachel spun on her heels at the sound of her name, her dark hair fanning out around her like a halo.

"_Jesse."_ she greeted him, her voice terse.

"You were great out there." Jesse St. James - the boy who had broken her heart - said to her. He looked as handsome as alway. He reached a hand up to brush her hair back behind her ear, and she visibly flinched. He withdrew his hand, his eyes clouding over. "But I'm not sorry we won." He said, the mask coming back over his face, letting the arrogance ring through his voice. "I think we were the better performance."

"You always were very good at putting on a _show_." Rachel said, pointedly, folding her arms and setting her jaw.

Jesse shrugged, smiling good-naturedly.

They stood in silence, facing each other. Rachel was torn, her conflict clear in her face. _Apologise_. She willed him. _Just say you're sorry and I will hurl myself into your arms as if nothing happened._ But the words didn't come.

"Rachel?" Finn's voice this time. Rachel felt his presence as he came up behind her. She saw Jesse square up a little, lift his chin, meet Finn eye-to-eye.

"What do you want, St. James?" Finn asked, his voice and posture shot through with hostility.

"Just being a good sport." Jesse replied with a broad smile. "You were pretty good out there." He said, flicking his gaze back to Rachel. "I couldn't take my eyes off you." She narrowed her eyes, appraising him. Was he telling the truth this time? He was so hard to read, so much of what he said was an act, was what he wanted you to hear…but he actually seemed to mean it. For a moment.

"We're leaving." Finn said, shortly, to Rachel, breaking her reverie. She felt him take her arm, forcefully, and steer her away from Jesse. She resisted the urge to look back. Almost. One tiny glance, so quick she hoped Jesse hadn't noticed. He was watching them leave, his eyes cloudy and distant, his expression unreadable. She forced herself to slow her breathing, and felt Finn's hold on her arm relax a little.

"What did that jerk want?" He asked in a low voice, as they rounded a corner.

"Nothing." Rachel said softly. "I think he honestly did just want to wish us congratulations."

"Yeah right. He just wanted to rub in that they won and we didn't even place. He wanted to mess with your head. Today, of all days." Rachel gazed at Finn's face, set hard like stone. He looked like he wanted to punch something. Like a wall. Or Jesse's face. "Man I _hate_ that guy!"

"Let's just…not talk about it, shall we?" she said, shaking her head to clear the image of Jesse gazing after them from her mind. She wouldn't think about that now. She _couldn't_ think about that now. Not when Finn -

"Did you mean it?" She said, abruptly, finishing her thought aloud.

"What? That I hate Jesse? Of course I do, I'd cheerfully punch him, we all would - Puck, Artie, Kurt - even Kurt would punch him. And after that egg stunt…"

"No," Rachel said, raising her hand up to slow the barrage of Finn's words. "I mean…before. When you said you loved me." She gazed up at him, searching his face with her eyes. "Did you mean it?"

"Of course I meant it." Finn said, softly. He bent down to her, meeting her eyes. "I love you, Rachel." He brushed her lips with his, softly at first and then deepening their kiss.

A loud cough broke the spell and they sprang apart, blushing guiltily.

"Guys?" It was Mercedes. "_When_ you have quite finished, we're heading back." She gave Rachel a sad look. "Nothing worth hanging around here for."

* * *

"Well, goodnight." Finn murmured, standing on Rachel's door step and smoothing her hair. "I'm sorry we didn't win."

"Me too." She replied, shrugging morosely. She gazed up at Finn, willing him to hurry up and say goodnight. She couldn't believe the irony: finally Finn had confessed his love for her, finally they were stood in a door-step embrace, on the perfect night, the moon full and a cool breeze around them. It was a moment to cherish…and Rachel was just eager to get rid of him so she could sit down and think. Every time she closed her eyes, she just saw Jesse's face, the meaningful look he had given her when the winners were announced, the dejected way he watched her leave.

Finn bent down to brush her lips with his, and in an instant Rachel found herself imagining he _was_ Jesse. She blinked, hurriedly, trying to clear the image from her mind.

"What's wrong?" Finn asked.

"Nothing!" She said suddenly. "I…I'm just…tired." She smiled, and felt fakeness ring through her voice. She never had been very good at acting. Fortunately Finn didn't seem to notice.

"It's been quite a day, huh?" he said, smiling at her. "Well, I'll let you get some sleep. See you tomorrow?" He kissed her gently on the cheek, and turned to head back to his car. Rachel stood watching until he had left, the same wide smile plastered on her face. Finally she swung the door shut, leaning against it and sighing in desperation. What a night.

"What a night!" Jesse appeared from the shadows of her kitchen, echoing her thoughts.

"JESSE?" She shrieked.

"Shh!" He said, crossing the room in two steps and clamping his hand over her mouth. "You'll wake your dads." He whispered.

"What are you _doing _here?" Rachel hissed, when he took his hand away from her mouth. "How did you get in?"

"Window." Jesse said, nodding his head towards her bedroom. She always left her window open, because fresh air was so important for her vocal chords.

"So you just _broke in?_" She asked, watching in disbelief as Jesse stepped away from her and lifted a water glass from the draining board.

"I didn't break anything." He said. "Soda?" He waved the glass at her. Rachel shook her head, and he reached into a cupboard, pulling out a half-empty bottle of coke. "I had to see you, Rachel. We need to finish our conversation from earlier."

"I have _nothing_ to say to you." Rachel said, folding her arms, and narrowing her eyes at him.

"That so?" Jesse asked, draining the contents of his glass and placing it gently on the counter-top. He walked over to where she stood, leaning so close that his face was just inches from hers. Rachel breathed him in, feeling her resolve weaken. She moistened her lips, her mouth suddenly dry.

"Well, fine. We don't have to talk if you don't want to." Jesse murmured, a hand snaking onto her hips and pulling her close to him. Rachel felt her eyes flicker closed as Jesse's lips came closer to hers. The image she hadn't been able to shake all evening finally played out, as she felt him kiss her - softly at first, then more insistently. She felt herself yielding to him, and gave up to the kiss.

"Wait!" Rachel pulled back.

"What?" Jesse murmured, tracing his thumbs in circles on the small of her back.

"I can't do this." Rachel put her palms on his chest and made a half-hearted attempt to push him away.

"Oh, I assure you you can." Jesse said, pulling her closer to him. "You _can_ indeed "do this." He nuzzled her neck. "Very well in fact…"

Rachel sighed, closing her eyes again and feeling her insides turn to jelly, the way they always had when Jesse kissed her. She felt him trace soft kisses along her jaw line until his lips found hers again. This time she kissed him back. Just for a moment, she didn't care, didn't stop to think about Finn-

"Finn!" She said, pushing Jesse away with force this time.

"No, I'm Jesse." He replied, laughing softly at her. "_Jesse_. Remember? Your boyfriend."

"My _ex_-boyfriend." Rachel said archly.

"Certainly didn't seem like that a moment ago." Jesse replied. He folded his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows at her in challenge.

"Well - I - that was…" Rachel spluttered. "I was confused." She finished lamely.

Jesse reached a hand up to her face. This time she didn't flinch. "What are you confused about?" He asked, softly.

"Finn. Finn and I. We're sort of…seeing each other." She said. Jesse let his hand drop to his side.

"Oh." He said.

There was silence for a moment. Rachel searched Jesse's face with her eyes. His gaze was fixed on the floor. She couldn't believe it, he actually looked _hurt_.

"It's not serious." She blurted out. "I mean, it's only just happened, like, today. And well_ you and I_ weren't even going out any more." She paused, mid-stream. "Wait a minute, why am I explaining myself to you? I'm not your girlfriend any more, _Jesse_. You dumped me. You broke an egg on my face, remember?" She noticed her voice was raising and heard rumblings upstairs, dropping the volume suddenly so as not to disturb her dads. Though they were pretty liberal parents, they probably wouldn't look all too kindly on midnight liasons with an uninvited boy in their kitchen.

"An _egg_." Rachel repeated, in a whisper.

"I know." He replied quietly. He jammed his hands in the pockets of his black jeans and lifted his gaze to meet hers, a sheepish look on his face. "I'm not proud of how I acted."

"So why did you do it?" She countered, blinking back hot tears. In an instant she felt the way she had when she'd run out to the McKinley High parking lot expecting to meet and make up with the love of her life, only to be pelted with eggs by Vocal Adrenaline. She'd only just stopped having nightmares about those poor dead chicks.

"I don't know what to say." He began. "I felt betrayed…hurt. After that whole _Run, Joey, Run_ stunt…I got in touch with a few people from Vocal Adrenaline and they told me things about you…things I know now couldn't possibly be true, but then…I don't know. Anyway I was hurting. And I just wanted to hurt you, to show you how it felt." He stepped closer to her again. "But I didn't mean it, really I didn't. I love you, Rachel."

Rachel's breath caught in her throat. The second time she had heard those exact words today.

"Well." She drew a shaky breath. "I'm with Finn now. You're too late. I've moved on."

"Really?" Jesse raised his eyebrows at her. There was a smirk playing about his lips, his perfect features relaxing into a smile.

"Yes." Rachel said, tossing her hair. She began to feel her confidence coming back.

"Ok." Jesse said, affably.

"What?" Rachel was surprised. She hadn't expected him to accept being knocked back quite so easily. Her stomach turned over. She was sort of disappointed he hadn't wanted to fight for her.

"I said "Ok"." Jesse repeated.

There was a moment's silence.

"You're being very mature about all this, Jesse." Rachel said, trying to keep the wounded tone out of her voice, and only partially succeeding. "I mean, I half-expected you to be at least a little upset that you missed your chance to get back with me-"

"Oh I haven't missed my chance." He said smoothly.

"Uh…what?" Rachel asked. He stepped past her towards the door.

"I haven't given up on you, Rachel. I'm going to get you back. Finn's not right for you, you know he's not." He leaned closer to her, whispering in her ear. "You and I were made for each other." He pulled her front door open. "Just you wait and see. I'll get you back, Rachel. We belong together." He gazed at her hypnotically for a moment, before breaking into an easy smile and blowing her a kiss. "Now get some sleep." He commanded, strolling confidently out into the darkness. "It's been quite a night."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello&thankyou so much everyone for the comments! This is the first fanfic I've shared here, I am so grateful to everyone who's taken the time to review :) Please let me know what you think of ch. 2...I hope you like! p.s. Apologies in advance for grammar/spelling errors, I'm having a bit of a slow day...xx

* * *

The bell rang, signifying the end of Social Studies, and Rachel was jolted out of her thoughts. The entire lesson had passed without her paying any notice. She would have to track down someone - Tina, probably - for the homework assignment later. She began to collect her belongings together and follow the rest of the students towards the door.

_We belong together._ That's what Jesse had said. She hadn't been able to get his smooth self-assurance out of her mind. _Well, what if I don't _want_ to get back together with you, Jesse St. James? What if I happen to think we _don't _belong together…_ She had been having this conversation in her head with him for 12 hours straight. It was a pretty one-sided affair. Partly, because it was all taking part in _her_ head, so he wasn't there to argue with her. Partly because, deep down, she had a suspicion he was right. She shook her head to clear that thought. It was disloyal. To Finn. To _Glee_ too. But mostly to Finn. She plastered a smile on her face as she walked out into the corridor. _Finn Hudson. My Boyfriend._ She thought.

"Someone's happy!" Mercedes appeared besides her.

"Trying to be." She replied. "Today's a new day, Mercedes. Time to pick ourselves up and start again."

"Yeah." Mercedes sighed heavily. "I just can't believe we didn't even _place_. That stings. That's worse than losing, it's…but you know what? You're right. Today is a new day, we're moving on up. It's going to be-"

"A nightmare." Kurt appeared, walking along on the other side of Rachel. She and Mercedes stopped mid-stride and turned to glare at Kurt.

"What's _your_ problem?"

"Oh you mean you two haven't heard?" Kurt asked.

Rachel's ears pricked up. "Heard what?"

"He's back." Kurt said, giving Rachel a meaningful look.

"Who's back?" Mercedes asked. Rachel felt her stomach sink into her loafers. The whole corridor went silent as the thudding in Rachel's chest filled her whole hearing.

"Jesse St. James."

"What?" Mercedes shrieked. "How can he be back? How dare he, after all those stunts Vocal Adrenaline pulled, after _everything_."

"I know." Kurt said, shaking his head. "Apparently, he's transferred. Again. Something about extra credit, and college applications. You know he's a senior."

"He's a jackass…" Mercedes murmured.

"Who's a jackass?" Finn's voice broke through, and Rachel came-to again.

"Nobody!" She sang, linking her arm through his. She shook her head almost imperceptibly at Kurt and Mercedes. Finn did not need to hear about Jesse's reappearance just yet. Kurt and Mercedes, apparently, did not agree.

"Jesse." Mercedes said.

"He's back." Kurt added.

Finn glanced from the two of them, to Rachel, and back again.

"You guys are kidding, right? This is…what…April Fool's?"

"Unfortunately not." Kurt said. "He's transferred back again. Again. And he's re-joining _Glee._"

"Oh he is _not_ rejoining _Glee._" Mercedes said. She looked at her watch, and began walking again.

"I guess we're about to find out." Kurt said, as they rounded the corner and reached the door to the practice room.

"Mercedes, Kurt, Finn…Rachel." Mr. Shuster greeted them as they filed into the room, one after another. "Hi guys, take a seat."

The rest of the Glee club were sat in rows towards the back of the room. Their postures did little to mask their hostility. Puck was scowling in the direction of the piano, where Jesse stood, next to Mr. Shue, looking calm and collected in the presence of such undisguised hatred. He smiled, warily, as the four entered. Finn's scowl matched Puck, they caught each other's eyes and for once it was like the whole Finn-Quinn-baby drama had never happened. Rachel wasn't psychic, but it was easy to read their plans, which involved inflicting a severe amount of pain on the new re-transfer student. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Unfortunately she wasn't given any time to dwell on it, as Mr. Shue cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Now…you're all here, we better make a start."

"What's he doing here?" Finn asked, jerking his head in Jesse's direction. His question opened the floodgates.

"If he joins again I'm quitting."

"He should be kicked off school property."

"He should be kicked in the head. Right? Let's do it."

"He's totally, like, _evil._"

"He played us."

"I'm frightened of rainbows."

As always, Britanny's contribution brought everyone else to confused silence.

"Guys." Mr. Shue said, holding up his hands to placate the barrage of complaints. "I know, alright? _I know_. I was as surprised as you all were." He swallowed, and shrugged. "But Principle Figgins confirmed it _is_ all above board. Jesse has credits outstanding that he wants to finish here at McKinley, and he came to see me about re-joining Glee club." He folded his arms in front of him. "I think it's only fair we hear what he has to say."

"No way, Mr. Shue. This is totally retarded!" Finn and Puck shouted in unison.

"GUYS!" Mr. Shue's one-word response was a warning, and it worked. Puck scowled, and kicked the back of the chair in front of his. Finn folded his arms, and his legs, and jutted his chin out, listening, but not willingly.

"Jesse?" Mr. Shue said. "Floor's yours."

Jesse took a couple of steps forward. Rachel gazed at him. He was just as handsome as she remembered. His light brown hair curled over the collar of his grey check shirt open at the neck, under a black sweater-vest. He looked perfect. She coloured slightly, remembering the feel of his arms around her the night before. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and Finn mis-read her discomfort, putting an arm protectively around her shoulders. Jesse noticed the movement, and raised his eyebrows at her. She looked away.

"I know what you all must be thinking right now," He began, looking up and down the rows of incensed Glee clubbers.

"How about I show you what we're all thinking right now?" Puck asked, making a show of rising to his feet.

"Believe me, I totally understand you wanting to punch me," Jesse said. "If I were you, I'd want to too." He held his hands up in surrender. "I was…unforgivable." He continued. "I sold you out for a guaranteed win at Regionals." He swivelled his gaze towards Rachel, who continued to stare at the wall, the door, her lap, anything but meet Jesse's eyes. "And because I was hurting. I mean, who hasn't done something stupid for love, right?"

Puck snorted.

Finn rolled his eyes.

A couple of the girls - Quinn, Tina - seemed to sympathise. Mr. Shue was wary, apparently reserving judgment. For now.

"Anyway, I know words don't mean much, so I'm hoping you'll give me a chance to prove myself. Again. And, to show I'm serious, I prepared a little something…" He caught the eye of the pianist, who struck a chord. Jesse shrugged off the messenger bag he was wearing across his body and dropped it where he stood. He took a deep breath and began to sing., a typically overblown rendition of Buckcherry's _Sorry_. He was good though, nobody could deny that.

The song drew to a close, and most of the club applauded, in spite of themselves. Mercedes, Kurt, Artie and Tina seemed wary, but hopeful. Puck and Finn continued to scowl. Rachel was trying hard not to cry.

"Thankyou, Jesse," Mr. Shue said, stepping forward. "Why don't you take a seat." Jesse picked an empty and went to sit down, breathing heavily from the exertion of his song.

"Ok guys, over to you. Jesse's done his part, he's apologised, he's proved he's still got the singing chops to be part of _Glee_. The decision's yours."

The practice room erupted into noise once more.

"You think one song can win us over?"

"No way. Forget it."

"I don't know, everybody makes mistakes."

"He is really good. Really. We'll need all the help we can get to pull back at next Sectionals."

"What did he do again?"

Mr Shue let everyone speak, even though it was almost impossible to discern opinions. Eventually he drew the noise to a close. "How about we put it to a vote? Hand up who says no to Jesse rejoining New Directions?" Puck and Finn's hands shot up, along with Mercedes', Kurt's and Artie's. Finn looked expectantly at Rachel, who kept her gaze pointedly in her lap, her breathing ragged.

"Ok, who's up for giving him a second chance?" Quinn, Britanny, Santana, Mike, and Tina raised their hands, sheepishly. Artie, Mercedes and Kurt looked questioningly at Tina, who lowered her hand slightly, ducking her head.

"I think we should give him a second chance," She half-whispered. "Everybody makes mistakes, if he's really sorry, and really does have nothing else to do with Vocal Adrenaline, I think we should give him a chance."

"Thankyou Tina," Mr. Shue said. "Well, it seems like we're at an impasse. Rachel," He said, warily. "You're the one who probably lost the most in this, and you have the most riding on the outcome. What do you think?"

The whole Glee club turned their attention on Rachel. Usually she relished the spotlight, but this time she shrank back.

"I think…" She began, blinking back tears. She remembered the night before, Jesse's arrogant assertion that he would win her back. She remembered how she had felt when he rejoined Vocal Adrenaline, and when he smashed that egg in her face. She remembered how it felt to be in his arms. She remembered his heartfelt regret at how he had acted, the night before in her kitchen. She squared her shoulders and looked over at where Jesse sat, and saw him earnestly gazing back at her. She swallowed, hard, and blinked rapidly a few more times to clear her eyes. "I think we should give him a second chance." She said quietly.

"What?" Finn erupted.

"Mr. Shue!" Kurt cried.

"Girl, are you crazy? He broke your heart!" Mercedes asked.

"Alright. Thanks Rachel." Mr. Shue said. "I know this is a pretty heated issue. And it's important that we, as a group, agree. That's not likely to happen right off. So, what I'm suggesting is this." He looked at each member in turn. "Jesse comes back to Glee."

He waited for the grumbles and comments of agreement to die down, and continued. "Jesse comes back to Glee _temporarily._ He would be on a probationary period for the next six weeks. After that, we can decide longer-term." He looked up at Jesse. "Do you agree to that Jesse? I think you'll agree it's only fair, considering…"

"Of course." Jesse said, smiling, and looking a little tearful himself. "I'm just grateful to be given a second chance at all." His gaze sought out Rachel's, and he smiled a slow, private smile at her. Rachel felt herself smiling back at him, in spite of everything. Finn caught the exchange, and stood, seething.

"This is NUTS!" He shouted, kicking the chair in front of him so hard it went flying over. He stood and stalked to the door. "If he stays, I go, Mr. Shue. This is ridiculous."

"Finn!" Mr. Shue called - but it was too late, Finn had stormed out of the doorway and down the corridor, and was nowhere to be found.

Mr. Shue rolled his eyes skywards, and lifted his voice over the rising murmur of the kids. "Ok, guys…I think that's enough drama for today. How about you prepare something… "new" for next time. We need a fresh start, a new _New Direction_. Go nuts." He strode out of the classroom and after Finn, determined to calm him down.

The Glee clubbers began to make their slow way out of the classroom to an early lunch, now that Mr. Shue had dismissed them. Rachel drew a deep breath, gathering herself back together after the emotional turmoil of the last few minutes, and stood.

"Hi." Jesse appeared. She swayed a little. _Why does he still have that effect on me?_ She questioned herself. _I love Finn. _Finn.

"So I guess I should thank you." Jesse said, smiling at her. She smiled back, in spite of herself.

"Well, Mr. Shue was right, you are a very good singer." She looked down. "And we could do with your talent if we want to win the next Sectionals."

She noticed Mercedes and Kurt hovering by the doorway watching their exchange, and stepped away from him rapidly.

"Hey Mercedes, wait up!" She called, walking away from Jesse's side as quickly as she could. She could feel his gaze hot on her back as he watched her leave, but managed to will herself not to turn around. Not this time.

"I don't get you, girl." Mercedes said, as she walked down the corridor with her. "I really don't."

"I do." Quinn said, slowing down a little to walk with them. "You love him."

"No…I love Finn." Rachel said, shaking her head. "_Finn_."

"Sure." Quinn said. "But you also love Jesse." She said simply. She shook the blonde hair back from her face. "Rachel, I _know_ what it's like to be totally in love with someone who is just really bad for you." She glanced back in the direction of Puck. They were no longer "a couple", but everyone knew there was still something there between them. A week-old something who was being lovingly brought up by her new "Mom", Shelby, out of town somewhere. "Be careful." She said, forcing Rachel to slow down and look at her. "I mean it, Rachel. Watch out. He wants you back, and it doesn't seem to me like you would be horrified if that were to happen." Rachel began to protest, but Quinn held up her hand to silence her. "And that's fine. But just be aware that he broke your heart once, and he could just as easily do it again. And _then_ who's going to pick up the pieces?"

"I still don't know about him." Mercedes said, glancing back towards the practice room. "But I guess we'll see." She continued. "I wouldn't like to see Puck's - or Finn's! - reactions if he does screw with us again."

Quinn nodded in agreement.


End file.
